The Configuration
by hooligans-holiday
Summary: Third chapter is already up! The Priestess wanted four girls, and she got them. But one of them might give serious problems to the whole Hell, if she ended in the wrong hands... The summary is terrible, but I hope the story is better...anyway, don't expect romance this time. Not even a little bit. Rated M for violence and some non-con stuff in the next chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**New story. Hell on Earth will never see the end, but this one is something I wanted to write for a long time. Expect a lot of weird stuff and references to both the comics and the movies (especially Bloodline's original script and that "Book of the Damned" comic about Lemarchand.).**  
**Please comment, so I know if I need to change something.  
**

xx

The "Lament Configuration". This was the name of the puzzle Jane was holding in her hands. Weird name indeed, but that was not important. The only thing she wanted was to know how to open it. It looked like a cube, it was a nice object to put on a table, but more than that...  
She spent every free moment she had on that thing. But nothing. She seriously started thinking that the man who sold her the cube stole her money.  
It was night. She had to sleep, but she couldn't stop looking at that "Lament Configuration". The day after she was going to look like a zombie, but it didn't matter. She wasn't going to give up easily. She wanted to solve that thing and...  
...and WHAT?  
She put it away, telling to herself that she was a stupid. How could she even THINK that after solving it something was going to happen?  
But then she looked again, and it was so inviting...  
She grabbed it again, looking at it. She WAS going to open that damn thing. Even if that meant breaking it. She moved her blond hair away from her face, then she resumed touching it.

A few hours passed, when she suddenly got the right moves. That was it, the cube started moving by itself, and it made a star-shaped thing, or something like that.  
And all around her it became dark. The small light she kept on to see what she was doing suddenly flashed and the lightbulb exploded.  
She jumped, scared.  
The wall started glowing blue, and a cold sensation pervaded Jane's body.  
She wanted to yell, she wanted to call someone, but her voice was stuck in her throat. She wanted to run away, but her limbs were lifeless.  
What was going on? Why...  
Chains flew in the air and hit the wall behind her.  
"H-help..." she whispered.  
A dark figure came out of all the blue light. It was someone bald, with a long...dress? Cape? But it wasn't really tall...  
"The Box. You opened it." the figure spoke.  
"Who are you?" Jane was trembling.  
"An explorer in the further regions of experience. Priestess of Leviathan. Sister of the Order of the Gash." so, it was a woman. It wasn't easy to tell, because both her figure and her voice were definitely NOT feminine.  
She walked out of the strong light, and Jane managed to look better at her. She had a nail through her nose, and her throat was held open by wires that also pierced her cheeks. Her light blue eyes looked like a sky ready to fall.  
Leviathan. Order of the Gash. What the hell was that?  
"What the hell...?" she started asking, but the Priestess, as she called herself, put index and thumb in her mouth and grabbed her tongue. Jane felt the nails ripping her flesh and the warm blood coming out.  
"Hell. Don't call that name in vain." still holding her tongue, she moved closer and brushed her lips on Jane's neck.  
The girl moaned something, and the Priestess finally removed her fingers from her mouth.  
" 'Hhy are you 'hoin 'his?" she tried to speak properly, but her tongue hurt too much.  
"You called me. And I'm going to show you all the pleasures that await you." she looked at the blood on her fingers.  
Jane started crying. She didn't want that, she didn't...  
Chains pierced her skin. She yelled, wondering why nobody came to save her. Nobody cared? Or maybe the screams were only in her head...  
"Your flesh is so tender..." the woman whispered.  
"Please..." she managed to say.  
"I can feel your pain. I can smell it. It's so good..." she took a knife from her belt.  
"PLEASE!" Jane was panting "I'll give you anything you want...anything you want..."  
The woman stopped. She stared at the girl, who fell almost lifeless after those words.  
"...anything you want." she repeated mechanically.  
"I want your body. Such is the law of the Configuration."  
Jane half-opened her eyes. The Priestess looked calm, as if she wasn't about to...to kill her? Was this what she wanted to do? Or worse...but what could be worse than death?  
"I'll give you someone else...I know some people who could...could open the box and you..." she stopped to breathe a few times "...could take them instead of me."  
"Maybe I prefer you."  
The girl shook her head, with tears in her eyes "I'll find someone...interesting for you. Please..." the college was full of weird people who liked weird stuff. She could ask them to try that puzzle...after all, she was doing the Priestess a favor...  
"So be it." she put back the knife and the chains returned in the darkness, making Jane fall on the floor, with her arms still wounded and bleeding.  
"Thank you..." she whispered.  
"Four girls. The same age as you...the same desire as you. Your friends." she said, before disappearing.  
Jane opened wide her eyes in shock. Her friends? She couldn't give the Priestess HER FRIENDS.  
What was she supposed to do? It was the only way to survive...  
She dragged herself on the bed, falling asleep immediately.  
But all she could dream of was a black hole swallowing her.

Luckily, it was winter. The large black hoodie she was wearing covered well all the bandages on her arms. The last thing she wanted was having people all around asking what happened.  
She looked around her. Nobody she knew. She only knew a couple of girls in the whole college, actually. And she needed to be fast, or else maybe the Priestess was going to change her mind...she couldn't even think about it. Actually, since she woke up that morning she could feel her presence following her, observing her. It was like a heavy stone in her chest.  
A girl with long red hair waved at her. Jane needed less than a second to decide that she just found the first one. That girl was called Mila, and she was one of the most beautiful girls in the college. Definitely a good victim for the Priestess...she hoped.  
"Hi, how are you? You have a weird face..." Mila asked.  
Jane shrugged and scratched the back of her neck "I didn't sleep." ...well, it wasn't a lie.  
"Oh, ok."  
The blond girl bit her bottom lip, don't knowing how to start. She felt guilty for that, but she didn't want to die...  
"I spent the whole time trying to open this thing. It's like a puzzle, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work." she searched in her bag, then she took the Lament Configuration and showed it to Mila.  
"It's a nice object." the red-haired girl stared at it, looking at the intricate drawings on the sides of the cube.  
"You want to try?" Jane asked, pretending not to care at all.  
Mila laughed "I'm a disaster with this kind of things. I'm just too stupid."  
"Hey, at least tomorrow you'll look like a zombie, too. Anyway, when I bought it they told me there's something special when you open it. Like...I don't know. Actually, that man told me "this is the door of your pleasure" or something like that." she tried to wake up Mila's curiosity.  
"Then why are you giving it to me?" she raised one eyebrow and stared at her friend with a half smile.  
"Because I can't open it. I tried everything, but it doesn't work. If you can do it, then you can give me advices." Jane smiled with the most innocent expression she managed to do.  
Mila took the Box in her hands and sneered "I think Lucretia could be much better than me."  
"Look, whoever manages to do it is welcome, that damn thing is absurd. I asked you because you made me think about it..." the blond girl shrugged and rolled her eyes. Damn, she needed to find another way to persuade her.  
"Ok, I'll try it. I'm pretty sure I'll waste a day, but this thing is too nice." she caressed the Lament Configuration. Actually, she liked a lot the golden parts. They looked beautiful, and for a second she thought about asking Jane if she wanted to sell it.  
On the other side, Jane mentally sighed in relief. If she managed to open it, she only needed to find three other girls. Two, if their friend Lucretia accepted the offer and opened it, too.  
The two walked inside the class and found a couple of seats.

When Jane woke up, she found the Lament Configuration on the table, near her PC. She felt a knot in her stomach. This meant the Priestess killed Mila? This meant...  
She tried not to think about it. If the Box was there, nobody was going to understand who killed her.  
Now she needed to focus on the rest of the mission. Still three girls. One was Lucretia, but the other two...she needed to find some random girls of her age.

Lucretia had been a lot easier to persuade. As soon as she saw the Box, she asked to touch it. She said it was the nicest object she'd ever seen, and she almost BEGGED Jane to borrow it. The blond girl never expected that task to be that easy...even if she had to guess it. Lucretia had an obsession for puzzles, symbols, that kind of stuff.  
She tried not to think about what she was doing to her friends. It was terrible, she knew it, but she kept reminding herself that it was the only way to survive.  
She glanced one more time at Lucretia, who kept staring at the Lament Configuration.  
And then she saw Mila.  
Mila. She was alive.  
How could it be? Jane almost fainted for the shock. She leaned against a wall and tried to reorder her thoughts. Mila was alive...that meant the Priestess didn't like her? She needed to know.  
"Mila!" Jane called.  
Her friend turned her head. When she saw the blond girl, she ignored her and kept walking.  
Jane remained still. Definitely something happened, but she didn't know what. She had no idea of what the Priestess did her. But that meant she wasn't really killing them...she sighed in relief. Well, at least she didn't have to feel guilty for what she did.

The Box was again on Jane's table. Lucretia needed less than she expected to open it.  
Still two victims...

The third victim was a girl Jane had never seen before. She was tall and muscular, with a black mohawk, and the blond girl heard people calling her "Irene".  
After observing her at the bar in front of the college for a few days, she decided that girl could've been a good option. She managed to take advantage of her distraction when she went to watch a friend playing pimball. Jane put the Box in her bag with the note "open me". Ridiculous, but she hoped it worked. Especially because only after doing that Jane thought that if it didn't work, if Irene threw away the Lament Configuration, it was over. She had no way to find it again, and probably the Priestess was going to think she tried to get rid of her...and then...  
She crossed her fingers and prayed that everything went well.

It was late night, but Jane couldn't sleep. Everything around her was cold, even if she was buried in the blankets. She checked if she was sick, but her temperature was ok.  
When she finally fell asleep, blue lights started surrounding her. A cold fog started coming out of the walls, and four blurry shapes came out of nowhere.  
It was like a long corridor with chains hanging from the ceiling opened in front of her. Soft cries came from it. And the four shapes walked closer.  
She tried to run away, but the door of her room was closed. She punched it, but it was harder than a brick wall.  
"It's so nice to see you again..." a whisper. It was the Priestess' voice.  
"NO!" Jane cried "I'm doing what you asked me! I only need to find a fourth victim! Why are you here?"  
She didn't answer. The other three blurry figures came out of the fog and the girl recognized them.  
Mila. Lucretia. Irene. They were with her, all three naked. Why...  
"So...this is what the Box does..." Mila spoke, then she ripped away the skin of her face. And all the rest of her skin followed it, revealing what was under it.  
She was wearing a short leather dress with a collar that stretched her neck, and tall boots. Her skin was pale, almost blue, and she had six long nails coming out from her bald head, kept in place by a circlet that made everything look like a halo, like those in medieval paintings. Her face was still beautiful, even if she had a leather eyepatch with small nails on her right eye, and her left eye had blood tears and looked bigger than usual. Then Jane understood that the Priestess cut the bottom eyelid.  
This was the fate of those who opened the Box, then?  
Jane looked at the other girls. They also ripped away their original skin, and they were bald, too. Lucretia had a long leather dress opened on her chest but kept it in place by hooks in her flesh. Her arms had stitches all over them, and she had a spiked collar. Her face was terribly calm, but she had one nail above each eye, and one immediately under. To complete everything, three spikes came out of the bone of her chin.  
And then there was Irene. She already was an intimidating girl, but that made her even scarier. She was the only one wearing pants, all in leather, and she had the flesh of her stomach ripped away to reveal her internal organs. She had gloves, but the fingers of her right hand had been cut and replaced by short metal claws. And then, there was the face. She had a transparent glass eye that showed the interior of the eye socket. Her mouth had been sewn shut, but the skin around had been removed so that everything looked like a creepy red grin.  
Jane couldn't believe what happened. What SHE did them.  
"Why...why are you showing me all this?" she asked the Priestess, trying to hold back tears.  
"Because it's your turn now." again, the chains flew towards her and the hooks pierced her skin. It hurt, but Jane couldn't hear herself scream. Maybe she was deaf...maybe she was already dead.  
She only managed to say "I didn't...I still had to bring you the fourth one..."  
"YOU are the fourth one. You didn't understand it, didn't you?" the Priestess took a knife and, as if they already knew it, the girls did the same.

When the four finished the work, Jane had all her skin ripped away, showing her bare muscles, apart from that on her head. Her eyes had been sewn shut, and they did the same with her mouth. She was wearing only straps to cover the essential and a pair of boots.  
"You four will be my slaves." the Priestess looked at them "I know you want to remain on the Earth, and I won't stop you. But you'll come to Hell...someday."  
Lucretia remained thoughtful for a second "But why? I mean...we could run away whenever we want, we can still look like humans if we want...these days we kept doing what we always do...once the Lament Configuration is closed..."  
"Because you aren't real Cenobites, even if you look like us. Your wounds won't heal...and, even if you can see by yourself that not even our wounds heal, you're nothing more than four corpses, four dead things..." a small grin appeared on her face.  
The four girls didn't reply. Air became as heavy as stone.  
"And dead things rot." the Priestess was still grinning.  
Mila opened wide her only eye, since the other had four nails in it "We're going to rot?!"  
"You'll be alive, but your bodies will rot...unless you come to Hell and complete your transformation. But until you're on the Earth, your duty will be to find victims and make them open the Lament Configuration." she took the Box and moved her finger on the golden circle on the top. Slowly, it took his original shape and closed itself, before the girls could reply.  
And then there was only darkness.

Jane woke up. It had been just a nightmare...  
She looked at her arms, she touched herself to check if everything was alright. She still had her skin, so it didn't REALLY happen...  
But when she tried to speak, she couldn't do it.  
She put a hand on the mattress and looked around.  
Then she felt a wet sensation on her hand. She looked at it, and saw the blood on the sheets.  
It was all true.

xx

**Well. What do you think about it? No, Jane is not going to be the main character, and soon Pinhead will jump in the story, too, don't worry.**  
**Anyway, on a completely unrelated note, I have to admit that Rammstein make an epic soundtrack for Hellraiser fictions.**

Speaking of completely unrelated stuff...since I'm studying for an exam about History of Religions, I wanted to throw here a few info about Xipe (the book only calls him Xipe...), just because. He has clothes made of human skin, and he's the god of the human sacrifice and of all the religious rites where the man mortifies himself, because that's the only way men can substain the existence of the universe. Actually, Xipe himself has been skinned, and this is because there's identification between victim and executioner, also during human sacrifices (with the victim that gets eaten by everyone, except the killer, who says "should I eat myself?"). Sooo...yep, all this stuff "lives" in the figure of Xipe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here we go. Second chapter. A bit strong, but we're still in the Hellraiser universe, so...  
Actually, it was supposed to be longer, but I cut a lot of stuff, since I didn't know if it was too...too much.  
I needed a lot of time to write this chapter, and I don't like it. I read it a lot of times, and I HATE it. But I already started writing the next one, so I hope it'll be a bit better.  
And THANK YOU to Belgian Horror for your review. I hope my story doesn't disappoint you as it goes on.  
To everyone else...I'm open to critiques. Please, I want this story to be good.  
**

xx

_You found someone you like, Lucretia?_ Irene asked, playing with Mila's empty glass. They still didn't know how they managed to do it, but her and Jane could talk even with their mouths sewn shut. It was probably some mental ability. Definitely, they weren't going to complain about it.  
Lucretia looked around, embarrassed. That night it was her first time "hunting", as they called it.  
Since the Priestess told them to find victims for the Lament Configuration, they started looking for a way to find them. And then they ended in that S/M inspired club, +18, where they found the weirdest men they could imagine.  
The first one had been Jane, who managed to do it even if she had to pretend she was mute. Then, after a couple of nights, it was Mila's turn.  
They went there almost every night, but they didn't go hunting every time. They needed to find people who went there for the first time, people who didn't know anyone else. Both times it worked, and luckily the Priestess seemed satisfied.  
But yes, that time it was Lucretia's turn. She kept looking around nervously, searching for a man who could be decent enough. She didn't have to do anything weird, but still...  
"He's looking at you." Mila slowly tilted her head towards a man on her left.  
Lucretia blushed and slowly turned to look in his direction. He was a man around his 40s, maybe a bit more. He was elegant, weird in a club like that, and he looked more like a manager than a lover of sadomasochism.  
_You think he could be interested?_ Jane said.  
"I'll have to find out." Lucretia stood up and walked towards the bar, here and there glancing at the man. Yes, he was definitely staring at her. Well, at least he was good-looking...  
She ordered a glass of Jagermeister because it was the first bottle she saw. She needed to be a bit drunk to do it...even if she didn't have to end in bed with him, and she knew that nothing could hurt her.  
She took the glass and started drinking, finally staring at the man.  
He slowly grinned. Lucretia bit her bottom lip and hoped that everything went well, then she smiled.  
He stood up and reached her.  
"Hi. Are you alone?" he asked. He was looking straight in her eyes.  
"Right now, yes." she managed to reply. She wanted to die, it was so embarrassing...  
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" he moved closer.  
"If you want." she was even smiling. Damn, it was easier than she thought.  
"Of course." he put a hand in his pocket and gave the barman the money for her drink.

They walked outside, where he took his car. It was a nice, expensive car. Lucretia shook her head in disbelief...that man had definitely A LOT of money.  
"Are you going to remain there? Come inside." he called.  
"Sorry, I was just...you have a nice car!" she giggled nervously, sitting near him.  
"Well, it's comfortable. When I like something, I always get it." he started driving.  
They remained silent for a while, until he asked her why she was in a club like that.  
"I like that kind of stuff...you know...it's like...actually, my friends say I'm a bit a masochist." she looked outside, at the light that slipped away around them. She needed to remember the road, even if she was going to call a cab to get home. But at least knowing WHERE she was going would've been nice.  
"We're both lucky, then. I like masochistic girls." he smirked, without turning his head.  
Lucretia felt something inside her stomach getting warm. Ok...she was curious. She'd never tried that "Well, it sounds interesting..."  
"And you haven't seen anything yet." the girl didn't notice the evil grin on his lips when he pronounced those words.

Jane shrugged. It was time to return home, and the others were ok with the idea, too.  
She grabbed her bag and stood up, when she felt something poking against her side.  
"What..." she opened the bag and tried shaking it to move away that thing...whatever it was.  
Then she saw it.  
_Oh crap..._ she became as pale as a ghost.  
_What happened?_ asked Irene.  
Jane took the Lament Configuration. Lucretia forgot it in her bag.  
"...and now? We don't know where she is..." Mila stared at the wooden cube in her friend's hands "What do we do?"  
They needed to find her and give her the Box, but there was no way they could ask if someone knew where that man lived...people were going to get suspicious, especially if they actually managed to deliver him to the Priestess' hands.  
They paid, then they walked out of the club.  
It was the worst situation they could imagine, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"Are you going to let me see again?" Lucretia giggled. The man blindfolded her and tied her hands immediately after she entered in his house, and he was bringing her somewhere.  
"When the right time comes." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver. The tone of that voice triggered something inside her that made her feel weird.  
Then she heard the clicking noise of a lock. Wait, he closed them in a room? She tried to understand where she could be, but the answer that appeared, obvious, in her mind was scaring her.  
"Now...can I see again?"  
He didn't reply, but he finally untied the blindfold.  
Lucretia found herself in a large room. A...a torture chamber? It surely looked like one...like something that could make the Priestess fall in love. And the worse thing was that the man was tying her handcuffs to a chain hanging from the ceiling, and she wasn't even trying to escape.  
"You like what you see?" he grinned, slowly removing his jacket and tie.  
"You...you like torturing your victims?" she asked. She was nervous and scared, but she couldn't get rid of that excited feeling in her stomach. How was it even possible? She already knew the pain of having her flesh pierced by...every kind of sharp object. There was nothing that could be new, so...why?  
"Not only torturing them." he remained shirtless.  
"I have something I can show you, then." ok, she needed to get rid of him. NOW. That situation sounded dangerous...she had no idea if she was immortal, too, and she didn't want to test the thing...  
"I'll see everything, don't worry." he took a big pair of scissors from the table.  
"No, I have it in my bag...it's called the Lament Configuration, and those who solve it can open the doors of pleasure..." she stared at him, who came closer and pointed the scissors to her neck.  
"You have nothing in your bag, Lucretia. I already opened it while you were blindfolded...at least I can call you by name." he opened and closed the scissors.  
Lucretia froze. Nothing. What did it mean "nothing"? She tried to think about what she did, because she HAD the Box, she...  
Jane gave her the Lament Configuration, and she answered that she was going to put it in the bag later, because she wanted to order something first. And then _Jane put it back in her own bag_.  
It was over. SHE was over.  
The soft noise of the scissors cutting the fabric of her clothes sent a shiver through her spine. He cut from the neck to the end of the sleeves so he could easily remove her top, then he started doing the same with her jeans, leaving her only in her underwear.  
"Such a nice view...you have a beautiful, pale skin."  
"Thanks..." she whispered.  
Now there was a razor in his hands. She didn't even look at where he took it, and, after all, she didn't really care. Nobody was going to help her. If she was going to survive, there was nothing to worry about. If she was going to die, suffering wasn't a problem because she already knew pain.  
The blade ripped the skin immediately above her bra. The warm blood that came out stained the green fabric.  
Lucretia closed her eyes and a soft gasp escaped from her lips.  
It felt good. It felt damn good.  
Another cut, on the other side. And then another, and another. Slowly, he filled her skin with red cuts that left bloody trails all over her body. But she could feel he wasn't satisfied. She wasn't screaming, she wasn't begging...and that was what excited him the most. Without that, it felt like he was cutting a doll. All she did was moaning here and there...  
He stared at her with angry eyes. She was biting her lips and staring back.  
He slapped her on the face as hard as he could. How was it even possible?  
"You're enjoying this, bitch?" he hissed.  
"You didn't give me time to explain." she closed her eyes for a second. Well, how about telling the truth and wait for a reaction? Maybe it wasn't the smartest solution, but it sounded funny. At least in Lucretia's mind.  
"Explain what?" he was getting more and more furious.  
"If you think you can hurt me like that...well...my Priestess knows a lot more tricks..." she started.  
"Shut up. I know a lot of tricks, too. You'll see." he still had the knife in his hands. He was going to make her scream, it didn't matter how much time he needed.  
He stabbed her with all his rage. She gasped, but it wasn't what he wanted. A human being wasn't supposed to be THAT masochistic.

She threw her head back. No, that was too much. She couldn't hold it anymore. That knife inside her was sending everywhere in her body sharp sensations that were driving her insane.  
A loud cry echoed from her throat as that pleasure hit her. She never...never...  
The man stared at her, terrified. A cyanotic, soft light came out of her skin as it healed itself.  
That wasn't happening...  
Lucretia was still squirming and panting, and a terrible stench of burned flesh filled the room as she lost her human skin and showed her true nature. But that wasn't the worst thing.  
It was like someone started carving some weird patterns on her skin with a red-hot knife, leaving burned wounds.  
A blue light seeped from the walls, and the air in the room became so cold that a small steam cloud came out of their mouths with every breath.  
Now a strong scent of vanilla reached the man's nose.  
It was like all his senses decided to deceive him at the same time. He put a hand on the wall, trying not to fall. He was feeling dizzy, and he could see a corridor in front of him. But there wasn't a corridor there...what was...  
He yelled in pain as chains reached him and pierced his flesh with their hooks.  
And then he entered in the room.  
He was tall, wearing leather clothes. On his head someone carved a regular grid, and there was a nail inserted at every intersection.  
"You opened the Box." he said, in his solemn voice.  
"W...what box?" he cried.  
"Who...who are you..." another voice whispered.  
The Cenobite turned and saw Lucretia, still tied. Her skin was full of incisions that reproduced the drawings on the Box.  
He turned again towards the man. Whatever happened, he needed to finish his job first.  
"You will come with me, and taste the pleasure you were looking for."  
Darkness swallowed the room.

Lucretia didn't know how much time passed. Hours, minutes, did it even matter?  
All that remained of the man were chunks of bloody meat on the floor. And finally the tall Cenobite seemed to remember that there was someone else in the room. He walked closer, even if a single look had been enough to reveal him what she was.  
"Are...are you a Cenobite, too?" she asked, looking better at him. He was the most fascinating creature she'd ever seen.  
"I can't feel the Lament Configuration." he didn't answer "How did you call me?"  
"My friends have it. Maybe they managed to call you..." she slowly shook her head, confused. For that night, it was enough  
"Impossible."  
She looked away "I don't know. I...I was supposed to bring that man to the Priestess."  
"The Priestess is your master?" he slightly tilted his head to the left. She  
"Yes. I..." she started.  
"The portal...that energy comes from you." he finally understood the reason of that weird sensation "You are the portal."  
She was WHAT? Lucretia stared at him, puzzled "What?"  
"You will come with me." he slightly raised his right hand and the handcuffs clicked, allowing her to move her hands again.  
She was still staring at him. He was so weird...he was a powerful Cenobite, she was sure, but apart from that...  
Ok, she already said it, but he definitely was a fascinating creature.  
"Come." he stretched out his hand towards her.  
"But I..." she suddenly remembered about the other girls "...I have other friends..."  
"They will come. Follow me."  
All she could do was obey, and she started following him in the long corridor.

xx

**Well. I wanted the ending be more serious, but I found funnier the idea Lucretia having HUUUUGE crush on Pinhead. Well, who wouldn't? XD  
And...I hope it's not too obvious that I didn't even try to put some effort to make the ending a bit better. MEH.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**New chapter. This time I needed less time and I hope it's better than the previous one, even if there's a lot of dialogue.  
So...as I already said...you know Bloodline's original script, right? I put together that and the description of Lemarchand we had in one of the Hellraiser specials that came out at the beginning of the 90s (It was the "Book of the Damned". I'm too lazy to go and check what number. I think it was the third.).  
AND...since I want this to have a more "serious" feeling...I don't want to use the name "Pinhead" because Clive said that's not how he's supposed to be called.  
**

xx

Since she arrived in Hell, she spent all the time alone in a dark place. Then finally the other three girls reached her, guided by a Cenobite with a disfigured face.  
There was a different feeling coming from them, and Lucretia noticed it.  
Jane explained that the chattering Cenobite who brought them there also guided them to a chamber where...something...transformed them.  
_I thought he did the same with you...actually, the Priestess was with him when they called us._ the skinless girl shrugged.  
Lucretia shook her head "No. I...I was brought here by a Cenobite with nails in his head. I don't know what happened...I only know that he's the Labyrinth's High Priest."  
"Well, we're all glad that you're safe. When we forgot to give you the Box we didn't know what to do...then we decided to open it. After...after hours, the Priestess came with that...Chatterer, she called him, and they said we needed to come to Hell." Mila put a hand on Lucretia's shoulder and smiled.  
"I...I don't know what happened, but that man I met at the club..." she tried to explain.  
His imperious voice interrupted her. She shivered.  
"Lucretia. The Princess awaits you."  
She turned and stared at the High Priest. The Princess? Why things were getting more and more complicated? Why there was a Princess involved now?  
"T-the Princess?" she was almost begging for an explanation.  
"She does not like waiting."  
Lucretia closed his eyes for a second, then she nodded. She told the others that she was coming back as soon as the talk was over.

The couple was walking on the top of what looked like a huge labyrinth. To Lucretia, it was like walking on the top of a ten floor building...or maybe fifteen...without walls or something that could save them from falling. She wasn't afraid of heights, but the fact that the ground, down there, looked like it was pulsing wasn't helping. But that wasn't the most important thing, at least for now.  
"Why they're real Cenobites now, and I'm still a...a human?" she was really tired of not getting explanations. She could accept having to wear a cape to hide herself, but why everything had to be a secret?  
"This is nothing of your concern."  
"But why? And who is this Princess, now?"  
He didn't stop walking, but this time he finally answered something "The Princess is the first creature Leviathan created. You owe her respect."  
"Leviathan, our god?" Lucretia raised her non-existent eyebrows. A goddess, then? She was going to meet a goddess?  
"Leviathan." he simply replied. He raised his left arm towards a diamond-shaped thing floating in the air.  
She stopped and stared at it. She'd been so busy looking down that she didn't notice it. That THING was their god?  
Suddenly, she felt it staring at her. That thing, that weird object, it was STARING. She felt darkness explore her body and her soul. It could read her as an open book, and all the things she hoped she finally managed to forget came back all together.  
She found herself on the floor, shaking and begging for everything to stop.  
"Can you feel his presence? He gives us strength and guides us through our mission." he was staring at Leviathan with both his arms raised, and the shadow it emitted seemed to have no effect on him.  
Yes, she felt it. It was the most powerful thing she'd ever felt.  
"Can...we go, now?" she whispered. She knew she couldn't bear another second of Leviathan staring at her.  
He slightly nodded, then did something that reminded of a religious sign before walking again.  
On the opposite side, there was a big mirror. The surface was blurry, but it still reflected their shapes. The thing that surprised her was that it didn't show Leviathan. Simply, the air where he was supposed to be was empty.  
She didn't have time to ask. The High Priest put a hand on the mirror, and they found themselves on the other side.  
Lucretia looked around. It was another corridor, completely covered in mirrors. Wherever she looked, there was a reflection staring at her, in a way that was almost suffocating.  
On the other end of the corridor, there was a woman.  
Lucretia had been expecting a monster or something like that, and that looked like a normal Cenobite. The skin of her head had been ripped to show the top of her skull, and it was kept down by wires hooked in her shoulders. Yes, maybe it was supposed to remind of a crown, but apart from that?  
"Princess, I brought you the girl." he nodded.  
"Good, Elliott." she smiled.  
Lucretia noticed the slight change of expression on the High Priest's face. So...apparently, his name was Elliott. And he didn't like being called so.  
"So...you are the girl who can open the gateway." the Princess put her hand on the other girl's chin and stared at her.  
"Princess, you are the only one who can explain this. You are responsible for Lemarchand's work. And he's been the only human able to create a Configuration."  
"I know, Elliott. Responsible for all of it." she turned her head and smiled again at him "All of it."

_Priestess, why Lucretia has been brought to the Princess?_ Irene stared at her master.  
"For now it's only her and High Priest's concern. The same as the reason why you three are now Cenobites and she isn't."  
The three glanced at each other.  
"And now, follow me." she walked out.  
"Where are we going?" Mila asked.  
The Priestess turned "I'm your master. My duty is teach you so you can serve Leviathan to your best. And the first thing I'll do will be show you Hell."  
_What's the difference between Hell and the Labyrinth?_ Jane reached the Priestess.  
"Hell is Leviathan's reign. But there are three regions in it." she explained "The region where the Blemmyes live is the region of pleasure, the Labyrinth is the region where pain and pleasure exist together and complete themselves, and the third region, the most known even though it's the nameless one. The region of pain and punishment."  
_What are the Blemmyes?_ Jane asked again.  
"Creatures who gave in to infinite pleasure. Sister Abigor is the High Priestess that rules them. But we won't visit that region." she tried keeping the usual expression, but it was pretty obvious that she didn't like Sister Abigor that much.  
"And why they live here? Isn't this a bit weird...I mean...that kind of pleasure shouldn't be here, if this is Hell..."  
The Priestess turned towards Mila and stared at her. They were so close that Irene and Jane could feel the tension.  
"Hell is not what you think. Hell is the most ordered place you will ever find. Our god himself is the incarnation of Order, yet he's also the god of Hunger and Desire...the god of Flesh. But these things don't consume us, and Chaos never prevails."  
"I don't...I don't understand." Mila looked away.  
"I will make sure you will. But, regarding what you said, Blemmyes are something different. This is why I said we don't need to see them." she turned again and started walking.

"You got an interesting prey here, Elliott." the Princess didn't stop smiling for a second.  
"Enlighten me, Princess."  
She sighed, pretending to be annoyed by that request.  
Lucretia saw that game between them. At first it was simply something that sounded weird, but after a while she saw it clearly. They were both pretending. And both knew the other was doing it. She couldn't understand why they were doing so, but it was like being the only real person, surrounded by actors.  
"Elliott...you already know part of the story. When I was still the Princess, De L'Isle summoned me. Since a summoned demon is the slave of the summoner, unless the latter stands in Hell's way...I needed to get rid of him to regain my freedom. That's why I asked that toymaker to make me the Box. He did an amazing job...but then he decided to give up everything...because he had MORALS." she hissed the last words.  
"So you brought him to Hell with you." he finished the story.  
"This is the story you know...and you also know that after this, that little worm, Jacques, summoned me again." she was staring at herself in one of the mirrors.  
Suddenly, she punched it. And it felt like an explosion, as if something flashed in the dark corridor.  
Shattered glass was everywhere, and on the surface of all the other mirrors there were creaks.  
"Angelique, I guess Chaos still dwells in your soul." he was calm.  
"Don't call me that. Don't...ever...call...me...that." she put her hand around the High Priest's neck, as if she wanted to strangle him. Her voice was different, too, It sounded like a man talking underwater.  
"I wouldn't do that." he didn't even try to remove her hand.  
She hissed again and pulled back her hand, showing the red scratches her long nails left on his neck.  
"So. There's something I don't know. Something you needed to tell me."  
She turned and took a deep breath.  
"I already had much patience with you, Princess. You remember what you did..."  
She raised her left hand to interrupt him "Silence. I'm still your Princess."  
A soft sneer came from his lips.  
Her voice when she pronounced her next words showed clearly that she was trying to hold back the urge to dismember him, and Lucretia wondered how could someone remain so calm after that. But the High Priest looked like he didn't care at all.  
"Lemarchand...Lemarchand was still a good craftsman...he would've been more useful on the Earth, making more Puzzle Boxes." she continued "So I...turned him into a demon, then I sent him back."  
For the first time, the High Priest looked surprised "The other Configurations...we had to guess it was his work. Too much perfection, too much order. It couldn't simply be someone who decided to use the same name as him."  
The Princess laughed "I did a nice job, didn't I? I told him he was going to be immortal...but you know...never trust a woman."  
He stepped towards her "Where is he now?"  
She put a hand in front of her mouth, pretending to blush "Well, a man of such exquisite genius...what bigger honor than become the most beautiful decoration of my room?"  
"And all of this...what does it has to do with her?" the High Priest pointed at Lucretia, as if she was an inanimate object.  
"Well...I guess Philip would be really proud if he could see what beautiful puzzle is his offspring."  
Lucretia thought she misunderstood the last words. Puzzle? Offspring? She had the blood of a demon running in her veins?  
She glanced at the High Priest. Yes, he had the same shocked expression as her. She understood correctly.  
"I...thought demons couldn't mate with humans. Their babies are supposed to kill the mother and die if there isn't another demon who can take care of them and bring them to Hell."  
The Princess shrugged, still smiling with fake innocence "I guess it's because Philip wasn't a real demon."

"And this. This is what humans improperly call "Hell"." the Priestess pointed in front of her.  
It looked like an anthill. Tiny human shapes kept moving, and here and there Cenobites were torturing them.  
"There isn't a Priest here, Leviathan himself controls this place. He takes his energy from their eternal suffering."  
The three girls stared at the place.  
_So...if the damned disappeared...Leviathan would die?_ Irene stared at her master. It sounded terrifying.  
"It will never happen." the Priestess shook her head.  
The chattering Cenobite reached them and "talked" with the Priestess. She nodded once and told the three girls that it was time to go back.  
Jane glanced one last time at that nameless place, and she noticed a fat Cenobite with an axe staring at them. On his shoulder there was a dark shadow.  
She looked away and followed the others.

"So...everyone has the power to open her?" the High Priest crossed his arms.  
"Elliott..." the Princess went closer to Lucretia and caressed her cheek "This girl is like a door. Everyone can open it if he figures out where the handle is. And the fact that she's a door that works both ways...isn't it dangerous?" she grinned.  
"What are you talking about?" he half-closed his eyes and kept staring at her.  
"Everyone can use her to move creatures from Earth to Hell...and vice versa." she kept caressing Lucretia's skin.  
The slight change in his expression was the signal that he understood what she hinted. And he didn't like it.  
"Leviathan can control her?"  
"No. But if someone has the ability to create...something like a "key" to control her...she would open only for him." she pierced Lucretia's skin with her nails, making her sigh and bite her lips.  
The High Priest nodded "Leviathan will do it. She needs to belong to him."  
"My father...he won't do it." she shook her head, still looking at him "The High Priest of the Labyrinth is the one who needs to control such a powerful Configuration."  
He remained silent.  
"Lucretia, please, leave us alone for a second." the Princess nodded.  
The girl nodded back before wearing again her cape and walking out. The two followed her with the eyes, then stared at each other.  
"Angelique...I didn't like your last words."  
"Oh, really." she grinned.  
"I will never betray Leviathan. I will never choose you over him."  
"This is not what I meant. That's not the kind of power I want." she stared at him. On her face there was a different expression.  
"You want me to believe you? You really are a funny creature." he almost laughed.  
"I'm going to be Hell's goddess. But I want to get rid of Leviathan by myself. I don't need dirty tricks." she moved closer. Their bodies were almost touching.  
He shook his head "Angelique...your name is Princess. Because this is what you'll always be."  
She yelled. All the mirrors started reflecting her, even if she wasn't on the right angle. It felt like they could reflect her scream, too. And her voice was a black hole, the same as her eyes.  
She fell on the floor and punched it as hard as she could. Hate. So much hate for that Cenobite who was always right. She wasn't going to win against him. Not with...with that body, with those powers. If she could go back...if she could still be the Princess...before De L'isle summoned her...  
"Don't let chaos invade your heart."  
"I'm tired of this." her words were as sharp as knives "I'm tired of your game." she lifted her eyes and looked at him.  
"There is no game. My faith is firm."  
After those words, she suddenly stood up, as if nothing happened "I know. I gave up trying to persuade you. And since you now know what you wanted...please, leave my rooms."  
He turned and walked away.  
She stared at him. She had a bad feeling about that story, but he didn't understand what she meant. She closed her eyes and went back to her room.

Lucretia saw the High Priest walk out of the mirror.  
"So...how did it go?" she asked.  
"Leviathan will be your master. I will call Sister Flagellum and talk about this."  
"And...this means now we're going to end my transformation into a Cenobite?" she didn't even ask who Sister Flagellum was. She already knew she wasn't going to get a decent answer.  
"No."  
She stopped walking "WHAT? I...I'm going to rot, the Priestess told us that until we become real Cenobites...we are just...dead meat." he was kidding. He HAD to be kidding.  
"The Engineer can rebuild you a body. But this has nothing to do with your mission to serve Leviathan."  
She sighed. Leviathan. That name was like a gravestone...there was nothing else to say after the High Priest pronounced it.  
"I...I hope to serve him well." she whispered, staring at him. She didn't know what to say to earn some respect from him. It sounded like all that mattered in his mind was Leviathan's plan.

The short Cenobite jumped back at her place in the pit of the damned. She had short, light hair on all of her body, and her clothes were only a few leather straps.  
"You're late."  
"I know." she hissed "But I bring good news with me." she stared at the fat Cenobite who just talked and grinned.  
"Tell us everything."  
"Apparently..." she took a knife and started torturing a man "...apparently, among the fresh meat the Priestess brought here, there's a special Cenobite who can open the gateway between here...and Earth and everyone can use it. Unfortunately I couldn't see her, she was wearing a cape."  
A tall female Cenobite with white skin and hair and a red dress stabbed with her spear the damned the other was holding still "So...sister...what does it has to do with us?"  
"You mean we could use her as a door from Hell to somewhere else, and move...them? We never thought about this kind of plan..." the shadow on the fat Cenobite's shoulder suddenly talked. It was a crow-like thing with human hands and something that looked like a silver mask. A chain kept the two tied.  
"What do you mean, my love?" the fat Cenobite turned his face full of golden piercings and stared at her.  
"The Princess already understood this." the short one sneered, before the shadow could answer "And the High Priest threatened her. That new girl could be really useful. They also said a few words about the way to open the gateway, Alastor."  
Alastor nodded and made a gesture to shut her up "Better talk later about this, Aeshma."  
She sneered again and went away with the white-haired female.  
"My love, this is the thing we've been waiting for...after years spying on the High Priest, finally...finally..." a grin started growing on his face.

xx

**Ok. Well, I know he's ALWAYS the bad guy, but after all his group had some cool Cenobites, and I wanted to keep them.**  
**And I LOVE Angelique. I'm pretty sure she's a lot stronger of what the movie showed us.  
**


End file.
